Gnome Race broken?

Twice now I have tried to do this.

Hailing Teena, before the race starts, results in her telling to to say close and wait.

Hailing after (just as she says it) the race starts gets a message that it looks like I have all ready completed the race or something has gone "terribly wrong with my steam-activated version tracker." And then she says to wait for the next race.

No quest is given, I was not made drunk, etc.

So I decided to run the course, just in case.

As soon as I zoned into Steamfont I was drunk. Unfortunately, no sooner do I start running that suddenly I am zoning back into Ak'Anon, with Teena saying, "Looks like you skipped ahead. Tsk tsk, back you go."

Same result every time I tried to run the course.

I am guessing that since she 'thinks' I somehow finished the race, that I am being teleported back to the start?

It appears impossible to do the race.

I'll take a look. Thanks!

As a note, I did have 2 unclaimed rewards from Gnome races of past year(s), that I have now claimed, just in case.

While this never affected running the race before, ya never know.

Are you using a fresh gnome to run, or one who's run it before? At some point, I think last year, they changed it so you need to run with a new character each time, and that matches my memory of what happens if you try with a slightly used gnome.

Using the same Level 1 Gnome I always have.

Delete and make a new Level 1 Gnome each time?

If this is true Prathun, I can only ask why why why?

My Gnome is Level 1 and I have used him many times for this. I also want to keep his name as is. Why would I need to delete a Level 1 Gnome and make a New Level 1 Gnome? Doesn't this add to server glut for naming, etc? What a terrible requirement.

If players have to delete and make a new toon for every race, NO ONE WILL DO IT!

It's certainly why I stopped running them. The minimal entertainment from the drunk run and the ornament didn't outweigh having to type whatever autogenerated mess of a name I got, to delete it and free up a character slot each time. And having to run the new gnome from the trainer to the entryway.

I would have sworn that I saw the change mentioned in a patch message, but I searched and didn't come up with anything.

I am only able to get 7 runs out of a gnome before having to remake them. Another factor seems to be if you collect the item it cuts down on how many times you can re use the gnome.

When I was really into this I would make a free account and make a couple gnomes to alternate. Then when they got used up I would just make more. You can choose not to enter thru tutorial so easy run from POK

Here's what I've uncovered.
The world stores a version number that's incremented each time the race is run. This version is used to ensure that a character's progress through a race is the same race that they started. When you speak to Tipsy Teena in Ak`Anon while a race is running, she will set the version number on your character to the current version of the race on the world... but only if your version number is less than the version on the world. If the version number on your character is greater than the version on the world, the script assumes that you've either already completed the current race or something has gone wrong.
The version number can only store values between 0-255. Every few years, this number rolls over, which can lead to situations like the one you're in now where the version number on your character is much higher than the version on the world, preventing you from participating in the race. I looked at the world's version number on a Live server and it's set to 2, meaning it rolled over very recently, so this is almost certainly what happened.
I can try to put in some logic to handle this edge case, but it wouldn't be in until mid-April at the earliest, and might not make it for this year. The original intent was that you would create a fresh character in this situation. So I'm going to recommend the same thing epidote did - create a new gnome.

This is in need of a serious fix, even if it doesn't happen until next year. Otherwise -- Gnome races are a burden to players, making it 100% not something to pursue, imo. So yes, please put the fix in.

I don't want to get anyone's hopes up. This is not a high-priority issue.
The intent was that people would create a disposable low level gnome to participate in the race, and while deleting and re-creating the character isn't an ideal experience, it's not that onerous.
If you hail Dibs and you've got a higher version # on your character that's on the world, he responds:
Dibster `Dibs` Biroboddle says, 'Well, well, well! It looks like you've already completed this particular race. Or... something has gone terribly wrong with my steam-activated version tracker. In either case, please wait until the next race or begin again in Ak'Anon by re-entering with a fresh contestant.'

Oh, I'm making a new gnome every race just to finish the set of ornaments.

So this is what is involved from a players point of view...

--Create character and be sure to un-click tutorial before entering world;
--Organize jumbled windows so you can see where you are going;
--Run to start of zone where NPC is;
--Wait for race to start;
--Run race;
--Wait in place (or figure out how to get to a bank somewhere, somehow)....;
--Log in and get 2nd toon and run it to the Estate of Unrest to snag up the loot from the Gnome, before you delete the Gnome (otherwise you delete the loot as well);
--Camp;
--Delete toon.

Repeat for next race.

Before the change, this is how it worked...

--Log in toon that is all ready made and sitting at NPC (no accidental Tutorial etc.);
--Wait for race;
--Run race;
--Use potions I gave it to gate back to Ak'Anon (Origin requires Level 5);
--Camp until next race and worry about loot later.





In any case, Thank You Prathun for looking into this. I do appreciate it.

That number doesn't roll over every few years, it probably rolls over three or four times a season given 4 times a day for a monthish. Its an annoyance yes, but good to know that's what is doing it and easily resolved with a new level 1 gnome. Who keeps a gnome after level 1 anyway?

It is very rare for a gnome to make it past 1, as they're usually eaten by trolls. So cherish those higher level ones, they are the lucky ones. (For now, /rubs tummy)

It's easy enough to math out.
Anniversary events run for the last 15 days of March (16-31), all 30 days of April, and the first 10 days of May. That's 55 days and the race runs 4x per day, so 220 races. So the 0-255 version number will roll over once most years.

Good points on the gnomes.

Bah my abacus needs replacing. I blame the gnomes for mutiplying the result of 30x4 by 7. Honest, it was them.

Gnome's are cheaters. Quelle surprise

You can /copylayout to fix your UI. And you can suicide at Unrest to appear back at the gates of Akanon where gnomes are bound. No 2nd toon required.

Alternately, get someone to bind you at the parcel in the bank before you run the race. Suicide-gate there, pass your loot, then camp. This little bit of time savings does require a 2nd toon though.

Copy Layout = Organize Jumbled Windows

They should make a new character slot that you have to purchase and you can only make new level 1 characters on it for these type of things.

You guys know you can delete and make a new character with the exact same name as before, right?